#SkinSchool: What Causes Psoriasis And How Do You Treat It?

Why it happens and what to do about it.

By Sian Ranscombe

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Kim Kardashian and her carefully-cultivated look are famous for numerous reasons: the curves, the hair, the lashes, the contouring. In beauty circles, she is also known for having quite incredible skin – so flawless it looks almost doll-like, say those who have seen her close-up.

However, the ever-candid 38-year-old is also a long-term sufferer of psoriasis, a chronic skin disease for which there is no cure. It is estimated that up to three per cent of the population of the UK and Ireland live with the condition, which can occur anywhere on the body.

This week Kardashian shared a photo of her “psoriasis face” on Instagram Stories, and last year tweeted: “Why am I now suffering psoriasis on my face”. These aren’t the only times time she has been vocal about her skin troubles – as well as mentioning it in an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, she wrote about psoriasis on her blog in 2016 year, saying:

Sometimes I just feel like it’s my big flaw and everyone knows about it, so why cover it? I’m always hoping for a cure, of course, but in the meantime, I’m learning to just accept it as a part of who I am.

According to the Psoriasis Association, the condition seems to occur in two ‘peaks’ – first becoming an issue between your late teens and early thirties before flaring up again past the age of 50.

What is it?

The problem starts when certain immune cells become overactive, as if they were healing a wound or infection, thus producing inflammatory chemicals which causes the skin replacement process to speed up.

Skin cells which normally take 21 to 28 days to regenerate are instead replaced in just a few days, causing itchy or sore raised ‘plaques’ on the skin, which can appear red and scaly or in darker patches.